Rafa, spend big and big things come good!

Hello everyone

Ok where shall I start? Got it!

Ok, tell me who are the best two signings Rafa has made? For me the best two signings have been Javier Mascherano who cost £18m and Fernando Torres who cost a bargain at £21m

When you break the bank, you really do get players at a higher quality. In my personal opinion, we should not be buying players who are costing £5m, especially if they are attacking players. We've got some good players for a good price like Daniel Agger & Martin Skrtel for £6m each. It's a lot easier to find quality defenders for a cheap price than quality attackers for a cheap price.

Now what happens when you break the bank? You get a player who scores 20 league goals in his first season, 27 in all competitions and 3 hatricks. Possibly one of the best current players in the world right now!
Then your second most expensive player is again possibly one of the best defensive midfielders in the world. Whoever he comes up against he pretty much destroys! He pretty much kept Kaka quiet last season, he pretty much keeps any attacking player coming up against him quiet. Ronaldo got tackled by him time and time again this season, Ibrahimovic was stopped when he crossed paths with him.

So what I'm trying to say is that spending bigger usually means you get better, a lot better! Now we don't have to be ridiculous and spend £19m on Carvalho like Chelsea did, or £30m on Shevchenko.. but if there is proven world class talent out there then why not?

When it comes to buying attacking players, 9 times out of 10, £10m will get you as far as Dirk Kuyt, or Peter Crouch. So please Rafa, spend bigger!

you absolutely right ra ra but unfortunately its not up to rafa is it? im sure if rafa was allowed he'd go for the big signings but if the money isnt made available what can he do? i think in his first seasons he was right not to blow all his funds on 1 or 2 players because he was able to get a more balanced squad but now we're close to having a title winning squad he'll be looking to do that. it all depends on what the dirty yanks give him

you absolutely right ra ra but unfortunately its not up to rafa is it? im sure if rafa was allowed he'd go for the big signings but if the money isnt made available what can he do?

Your are correct. I know Rafa has wanted to spend bigger in the past, just that he's not been allowed to. But sometimes I feel that if the money is not there, then just buy one quality player and try and keep a smaller squad and build up on that rather than buying a load of squad players.

Rafa has been unlucky, and I know he wanted Simao Sabrosa & Daniel Alves who are two quality flank players but due to the lack of funds he's not been able to secure them. But I have to question, where was the two quality wingers he suppose to buy last summer? The two quality wingers he said he was looking for? Surely not Yossi Benayoun who plays behind the two strikers and Ryan Babel who plays as a striker.

What did annoy me was at the start of the season, we started against Aston Villa with wingers on the pitch but they weren't new summer buys, they were Riise & Pennant. Next season when we play our first Premierleague game, I hope to see someone such as Quaresma & Silva on the flanks.

Your are correct. I know Rafa has wanted to spend bigger in the past, just that he's not been allowed to. But sometimes I feel that if the money is not there, then just buy one quality player and try and keep a smaller squad and build up on that rather than buying a load of squad players.

Rafa has been unlucky, and I know he wanted Simao Sabrosa & Daniel Alves who are two quality flank players but due to the lack of funds he's not been able to secure them. But I have to question, where was the two quality wingers he suppose to buy last summer? The two quality wingers he said he was looking for? Surely not Yossi Benayoun who plays behind the two strikers and Ryan Babel who plays as a striker.

What did annoy me was at the start of the season, we started against Aston Villa with wingers on the pitch but they weren't new summer buys, they were Riise & Pennant. Next season when we play our first Premierleague game, I hope to see someone such as Quaresma & Silva on the flanks.

sure babel came from ajax as a striker but one thing to remember was that he played on the left side of their front 3, with most dutch teams playing 4-3-3 their strikers are very different to our views of a striker. i would assume with this that rafa knew babel could do the wings and i'd say he is a quality winger and will get much better. yossi, he nots top quality but i think he was a good bit of business, versatile, creative, hardworker and gets in on the goals hes a much better option than pennant. all in all i dont think rafa did badly last summer with what he had

but i think if i saw quaresma and silva on the teamsheet next year yossi would be an all too distant memory for me!!

oh ra ra, you live in spain dont you? i know its off topic but do you think barca will beat almeria tonight? any team news or anything? just i have an accumalator on and barca are the final match!

oh ra ra, you live in spain dont you? I know its off topic but do you think barca will beat almeria tonight? any team news or anything? just I have an accumalator on and barca are the final match!

No, he lives down south, he often mentions that he would like to visit relatives that live abroad though, Donrafael and Ayrton77 both live in Spain. 

No, he lives down south, he often mentions that he would like to visit relatives that live abroad though, Donrafael and Ayrton77 both live in Spain. 

Also Edu_Rbb, Betis fan

oh ok i'll go see if they're online and make pally with them!!

oh ok I'll go see if they're online and make pally with them!!

haha, whats a pally paddy?

I'd ask Edu_Rbb for advice, he is pure Spanish and knows the inside of the game very well
Think Don and the other guy follow this league more, however I might be wrong.

Obviously a Barca win no?

haha, whats a pally paddy?

I'd ask Edu_Rbb for advice, he is pure Spanish and knows the inside of the game very well
Think Don and the other guy follow this league more, however I might be wrong.

Obviously a Barca win no?

make pally with them, basically becoming friendly with them to get the inside info! i'd expect barca to win but from what ive found out barca are missing some players and arent in the best of form, have absolutely no idea about almeria although they're doing ok in the league

Hello everyone

Ok where shall I start? Got it!

Ok, tell me who are the best two signings Rafa has made? For me the best two signings have been Javier Mascherano who cost £18m and Fernando Torres who cost a bargain at £21m

When you break the bank, you really do get players at a higher quality. In my personal opinion, we should not be buying players who are costing £5m, especially if they are attacking players. We've got some good players for a good price like Daniel Agger & Martin Skrtel for £6m each. It's a lot easier to find quality defenders for a cheap price than quality attackers for a cheap price.

Now what happens when you break the bank? You get a player who scores 20 league goals in his first season, 27 in all competitions and 3 hatricks. Possibly one of the best current players in the world right now!
Then your second most expensive player is again possibly one of the best defensive midfielders in the world. Whoever he comes up against he pretty much destroys! He pretty much kept Kaka quiet last season, he pretty much keeps any attacking player coming up against him quiet. Ronaldo got tackled by him time and time again this season, Ibrahimovic was stopped when he crossed paths with him.

So what I'm trying to say is that spending bigger usually means you get better, a lot better! Now we don't have to be ridiculous and spend £19m on Carvalho like Chelsea did, or £30m on Shevchenko.. but if there is proven world class talent out there then why not?

When it comes to buying attacking players, 9 times out of 10, £10m will get you as far as Dirk Kuyt, or Peter Crouch. So please Rafa, spend bigger!

I think if Rafa was to answer your supposition he might say "your leaning on an open door"
Maybe your question would be better directed to Messrs Gillett & Hicks!

yes!!! bojan krkic! little wonderkid!! cmon barca! its not right to devote a full thread to my bet and this one game so im just gonna tag along on this thread!

yes!!! bojan krkic! little wonderkid!! cmon barca! its not right to devote a full thread to my bet and this one game so im just gonna tag along on this thread!

 

We've barely discussed the original topic.

All comes down to rafa doesnt have the money so its out of his hands. Buying one WC player helps the squad nowww but back when he opted to buy 3 or 4 players for less it was the right option because he isnt stupid and knows if you buy scarcely and your squad isnt so big injuries will end up ruining your entire season and leave you outside the top 4.

I think its all good buying a player who is expensive IF they are worth that money. Rafa is smart he wont go for whatever a team wants if it isnt worth it. I want the prem so much but i would be mortified if we ended up doing a chelsea and buying it rather than working for it.

All comes down to rafa doesnt have the money so its out of his hands. Buying one WC player helps the squad nowww but back when he opted to buy 3 or 4 players for less it was the right option because he isnt stupid and knows if you buy scarcely and your squad isnt so big injuries will end up ruining your entire season and leave you outside the top 4.

Agreed, we are now in a position where we can focus on quality ahead of quantity but it hasn't always been that way. We had a lot of dead wood to replace when Rafa first joined, and those players all needed replacing. Now that we're starting to see the base of the squad that Rafa wants we can start to focus on just getting the missing pieces rather than a total overhaul.

Agreed, we are now in a position where we can focus on quality ahead of quantity but it hasn't always been that way. We had a lot of dead wood to replace when Rafa first joined, and those players all needed replacing. Now that we're starting to see the base of the squad that Rafa wants we can start to focus on just getting the missing pieces rather than a total overhaul.

Yep hit the nail on the head. Rafa truly is a genius, people who want him out seem not to realise he is building, some of it obvious some behind the scenes but he is building. All we need now is just the final players who will fill the gaps we are missing.

Key points in rafas building to me are:

The spine he has built- Reina, Carragher, Mascherano, Gerrard, Torres. Perfect spine leading from the back of the field to the front. Agger is nearly part and i think Alonso would be in my books but i have an extremely high opinion of him as a player so im a bit biased .

The removal of dead wood - If you dont perform your out its simple as that with rafa, sounds negative but its the only way to progress, one player i do think left too soon was Mark Gonzalez but perhaps that is due to Babel being the only decent option for the left side at the moment (doing a great job but i think we do need backup)

Youth - Every serious fan knows about our youth setup, Doing fantastically in the league and now they are in america and just won the first game 7-1 and that was without Nemeth . Some great players with huge potential such as Nemeth, Spearing, Insua, Mikel San Jose (feel free to add more) looking like they could be pushing for a first team place next season. And even the Guys out on loan like Anderson, Hammill and Nikholay Mihaylov (sp?).

Progression in tactics - Rafa is great at getting to know players strengths and weaknesses and that has been demonstrated with some of his formation set ups, The 4-2-3-1 is working wonders and its not the first time we have seen rafa use a formation that was rather unexpected but genius. Even last season when we had bellamy and we used a 4-3-3 it worked excellently. Rafa really knows his tactics and he may get it wrong at times but no risks = no rewards.

Ra Ra Rafa Benitez!

His aim at the start was quantity over quality especially with the little money he got,  has now found a perfect backline except for Riise, the best midfield in the world and the best striker on the land right now and now found a way to get the best out of each player with a new system. The guy has talent as a manager but also in the market, he knows what he wants and once he finds it he'll go for it (Torres and Mascherano)

Rafa got money and delivered. Thats enough evidence to suggest he has the know how to buy us the players we need. The July 1st transfer window will be interesting and i have no doubt in my mind he will bring us the goods, Villa or no Villa as long as he gets the financial backing.

PS: No looking past Nando and Javier. You could say Babel was a great signing but no player can say they played better all season (so far) than Nando and Javier.

pepe reina was a bargain, signed for 6.25 and he is probably the best in the prem and one of the best in europe behind only casillas. Also agger was a bargain, 5.25 mill was it? so it shows you dont have to spend big on every posistion.

For proof you dont have to spend big to do well look no further than AW.

You can get great players for little money. Reina,Sami,Agger,Skrtel,Finnan,Riise,Xabi,Lucas,Benayoun,Crouch,Kuyt.

Alllll bought for £10 million or less. You dont have to spend big for success but it can work in certain cases e.g. torres and masch.

For proof you dont have to spend big to do well look no further than AW.

I actually think it's a bit of a myth that Arsene Wenger does really well without spending any money. Arsenal haven't actually won the league since 03/04 and haven't won anything at all since 04/05 (FA Cup).

I'm not getting at Arsenal as I quite like their style of football and many of their players but the fact that most of the team are 'kids' is used as an excuse when they finish a season with no silverware, especially when most of the so-called kids are full internationals.

True but they are challenging for the title and still in the CL but they will hopefully be going out soon. Wenger is smart he has been building. At least he has them challenging for the title now i would prefer to be doing that than in fourth but i hope we are challenging next season.

Like I said Lil cisse I'm not knocking the job Wenger has down but we finished above them in the last two seasons so you could argue that we have been closer to winning the league than Arsenal over the last few years.

Yeah i know your not knocking him. Im just annoyed we havent been challenging like they are now. I just hate seeing us in third every season.